5 things you need to know about the India-bound Jeep Meridian SUV

Stellantis at CES 2022. Jeep Meridian was developed by Stellantis engineers but will be manufactured completely in India. (Image via NewspressUK)

Jeep India has finally announced that its much-awaited 7-seater is scheduled for a launch in India later this year. Christened the Meridian, the new full-sized SUV will go up against competitors in the segment including the Toyota Fortuner, Skoda Kodiaq and the MG Gloster.

The Meridian is expected to offer a choice between diesel and petrol engine, just like the Compass. On the Compass, the 2-litre diesel makes 173PS of power and 350Nm of torque. The 1.4-litre petrol, on the other hand, produces 162PS of power and 350Nm of torque. Both of these units are expected to be retuned to carry the additional weight of the Meridian.

There are also talks about the Wrangler’s 2-litre turbo-petrol being put to use on the SUV which should give it a decent amount of driving power. Both 2-wheel-drive and 4-wheel-drive configurations are expected to be available along with the different terrain modes such as Sand, Mud and Snow that Jeep uses on all its SUVs.

Of course, not much has been revealed about the car yet, but the company, with its announcement on Monday, shared a number of interesting details. Here are five things that you should know about the Meridian.

Made in India, made for India

According to Stellantis India CEO and managing director Roland Bouchara, the Meridian has been developed specifically for India and the Indian customers. “India is a vast country and diverse and special to us. So, we wanted to offer it an SUV that embodies the expectations of our customers,” he said.

The Jeep Meridian was developed by Stellantis engineers but will be manufactured completely in India. Of course, the Meridian is already available in Brazil under the name Commander, but there will be major differences between the two models.

Named after the 77th Meridian East

According to the company, since the SUV was completely made in India, it needed a name that “captures the best of India”. In their search for this, the team found out about the 77th Meridian East, a longitudinal line that cuts across the length of India, passing through 11 out of the country’s 28 states and eight Union territories. The Meridian was picked from 70 different names that were being considered, including some from Jeep’s global market.

Tested on over 5,000 km of Indian roads

Jeep claims that the Meridian has been tested on every kind of terrain in India.

Nipun Mahajan, head of Jeep India, said, “From performance, to looks and comfort, to off-roading driving prowess, the Jeep Meridian is truly unmatched in its category.”

From Kashmir to Kanyakumari, the Jeep Meridian has travelled over 5,000 km on a journey to test its mettle on India’s roads. “The Jeep Meridian performed flawlessly,” he said. The SUV’s journey took it through not only different terrains, but also different weather conditions.

Will Feature ADAS

As artificial intelligence keeps developing and we near a self-driving world faster each year, it is becoming increasingly common for manufacturers to bring in better safety tech to their cars. ADAS, or Advanced Driving Assistance Systems, are becoming increasingly common in newer cars and Jeep will want to employ the feature in their car as well.

The Meridian is expected to be equipped with autonomous Level 2 driving tech which should make the car a whole lot safer. This brings features such as adaptive cruise control, forward collision warning, auto emergency braking, blind-spot monitoring and assistance, lane-keep assist, lane-departure prevention and lane-change assistance, among others.

A 2006 model of the Jeep Commander. (Image via NewspressUK)

Features

Jeep has obviously not revealed their features list yet; however, they have promised an extensive one. Aside from the ADAS, we can expect features like a large 10.1-inch infotainment screen, 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster, wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, wireless charging, panoramic sunroof, power adjustable front and rear seats, ventilated front seats and possibly seven airbags for safety.

The Jeep Meridian in essence is based on the Compass Platform and as such a lot of the styling features come from there. It is, however, built to have a third row of seating. Now, according to the speculation on the internet, the Meridian is expected to be offered in two seating configurations. One is a standard 7-seater variant that will make use of a bench in the middle row while a 6-seater configuration will employ captain seats in the middle.

Whatever the case may be, the Jeep Meridian has a long list of rivals that it will take on upon launch. Besides the three SUVs mentioned above, the Hyundai Alcazar, XUV700 and even the MG Hector plus will compete with the Meridian in the 7-seater category - even with the vast difference in price ranges.

Speaking of pricing, the Jeep Meridian is expected to be priced somewhere in the Rs 30 lakh range.